Cons

27in monitors group test

Looking for an alternative to Apple’s wallet-busting 27in LED Cinema Display? Rob Mead tries these massive monitors for size

by
Rob Mead| 03 Dec 10

﻿

X

Email this to a friend

Characters remaining:

What is A + B?

HannsG HZ281

Rating

Price

RRP: £279

Pros

Huge 27.5in screen

sensibly priced

TV-like appearance

HDMI port

good colour fidelity using default settings

Cons

Limited viewing angle

worryingly wobbly

limited connectivity

below average contrast

so-so sound quality

27in monitors group test

Looking for an alternative to Apple’s wallet-busting 27in LED Cinema Display? Rob Mead tries these massive monitors for size

by
Rob Mead| 03 Dec 10

﻿

X

Email this to a friend

Characters remaining:

What is A + B?

Dell UltraSharp U2711

27in LCD display/TFT active matrix

widescreen

USB Hub

Dot Pitch/Pixel Pitch: 0.233mm

Max Resolution: 2560x1440

Colour Support: Up to 1.07 billion colours

Response Time: 6ms

Display Positions Adjustments: Height

pivot (rotation)

swivel

tilt

Signal Input: DVI-D

VGA

DisplayPort

HDCP

110% colour gamut

Image Brightness: 350 cd/m2

Image Contrast Ratio: 1000:1/80000:1 (dynamic)

Image Max View Angles: 178/178

VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)

DVI-D - 24 pin digital DVI

DisplayPort - 20 pin DisplayPort

4 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A

647x200x428mm

10.5kg

Rating

Price

RRP: £1,058.68 inc VAT

Pros

Great range of connection options

excellent build quality

sensibly located control buttons and delightful UI

excellent picture quality

Cons

Enormous price tag

speakers are extra

6ms response time

Apple’s 27in LED Cinema Display is better value

27in monitors group test

Looking for an alternative to Apple’s wallet-busting 27in LED Cinema Display? Rob Mead tries these massive monitors for size

by
Rob Mead| 03 Dec 10

﻿

X

Email this to a friend

Characters remaining:

What is A + B?

ViewSonic VX2739wm

27in 16:9 anti-glare LCD screen

maximum resolution1920x1080

1

200:1 contrast ratio (100

000:1 DCR)

170-/160-degree viewing angles

3.4ms response time (typical)/1ms (grey to grey)

300cd/m2 brightness

DVI

VGA

HDMI

51W typical power consumption

647x490x250mm

7.2kg

Rating

Price

RRP: 263

Pros

Good video and gaming performance for the money

wide range of connectivity options

high contrast display

Mac-friendly colour profiles

Cons

Pedestrian design

tinny speakers

no height or swivel adjustment

plasticky finish

tricky control buttons

default video quality is poor

27in monitors group test

Looking for an alternative to Apple’s wallet-busting 27in LED Cinema Display? Rob Mead tries these massive monitors for size

by
Rob Mead| 03 Dec 10

﻿

X

Email this to a friend

Characters remaining:

What is A + B?

Acer S273HL

27in flat-panel

1920 x 1080

0.3114mm pixel pitch

2ms response rate (grey-to-grey)

1000:1 contrast ratio (‘12

000

000 with Adaptive Contrast Management’)

170/160 degree viewing angle

300cd/m2 brightness

1 x VGA D-Sub

2 x HDMI connectors

645 x 190 x 469mm

5.8kg

3-year warranty

Rating

Price

RRP: 400

Pros

Ultra-slim design

compact footprint

good range of monitor settings

calibration mode

picture quality

fast response time for movies and games

Cons

Limited connectivity

limited screen resolution

no height or swivel adjustment

coarse pixel pitch

poor sound from built-in speakers

27in monitors group test

Looking for an alternative to Apple’s wallet-busting 27in LED Cinema Display? Rob Mead tries these massive monitors for size

by
Rob Mead| 03 Dec 10

﻿

X

Email this to a friend

Characters remaining:

What is A + B?

NEC MultiSync PA271W

27in 16:9 widescreen LCD monitor

pixel pitch 0.233mm

max resolution 2560x1440/60Hz

colour support 1.07 billion colours

max sync rate (V x H) 85Hzx118.4kHz

response time 6ms

typical response time 12ms (on/off)

6ms (grey-to-grey)

controls/adjustments: brightness

contrast

sharpness

colour temperature

black level

display position adjustments: height

pivot (rotation)

swivel

tilt

signal input 2xDVI-D

VGA

DisplayPort

Picture in picture

CableComp

Ambix

AutoBright

power off timer

TileMatrix

NaViSet

ColorComp

AmbiBright

Eco-Mode

Overdrive technology

4-year warranty

644x250x398mm

15kg

Rating

Price

RRP: £1046.95 inc VAT

Pros

Pro level monitor with colour fidelity to match

gorgeous gaming and movie playback

wide colour gamut

money-no-object performance

Cons

Superb picture quality comes at a cost

not the best performer when it comes to response times

no HDMI input

no built-in speakers

27in monitors group test

Introduction

From BBC iPlayer to iMovie, iTunes to Steam, it’s never been easier to enjoy movies, TVs and games on your Mac – something Apple has acknowledged on the hardware side with the 27in iMac and its range of LED Cinema Displays, of which the 27in version is a prime example.

There’s a good reason why 27in displays are fast gaining ground: they deliver the best trade-off between desktop practicality and a truly immersive experience. They’re big enough to comfortably watch a movie, edit a photo or do some desktop publishing. They’re not so big that sticking one on your average desk is a no-no. Unfortunately, in Apple’s case there’s a catch: you have to have a wallet bulging with fivers to stump up for the £1,399 asking price of the 27in iMac, while the 27in LED Cinema Display costs a princely £899. That’s an awful lot of money to pay for something that’s primarily going to be used at home for fun stuff like movie viewing and gaming, especially when you’ve shelled out a modest amount for the new Mac mini (with HDMI) or just want a secondary display for a MacBook or MacBook Pro.

What we’ve lined up here then are six alternatives to the 27in LED Cinema Display. These monitors from Acer, BenQ, Dell, Hannspree, NEC and ViewSonic all play nicely with Mac hardware and yet meet – or even exceed – the capabilities of what Apple’s own hardware has to offer. At the very least they offer a value-packed alternative for those all-important movies and games: which is why they’re bound to be popular.

We’re judging these monitors on some very straightforward criteria: they have to be practical, robust, offer a good range of connection options and be easy to set up and use. Of course, they also need to excel when it comes to picture and sound quality. We’re less concerned with the more esoteric stuff like high-end graphics capabilities and wide colour gamuts. The monitors we’ve chosen are all about family friendly, practical and immersive experiences with the stuff we all love to do, which is to kick our work shoes off, relax and enjoy a good blast of FPS gaming or laid-back movie and TV viewing. Ready? We are...